Episode 235 (13th March 1963)
Plot Christine tries to calm Elsie down as she continues to rant about the letter. She goes through the possible suspects who wrote it and says there's only one person on the list - Val. Concepta is happy for Jed to buy the car, thinking it's more trouble than it's worth. Elsie storms into No.9 and flies at Val although she swears her innocence. Elsie accuses her of getting above herself because she's married to a schoolteacher. Swindley and Emily call at the vestry to organise a night for the Over 60's Club and Ena smells the port wine on his breath. Delighted to get one over him, she accuses him of being "three sheets in the wind". Albert puts forward the idea of a bingo night for the pensioners and Swindley reluctantly agrees. Martha runs in and excitedly tells Ena that Elsie's on the warpath. Elsie refuses to listen to Christine's idea that she should just move out. Ken sees that Val has been crying. He is livid when he finds out the reason and decides to have it out with Elsie. Ena calls at No.11 and sees the letter. Ken comes in and threatens to take Elsie to court if she slanders Val. She is furious but Ena thinks Val wasn't the writer. Jed offers Harry £35 for his car after some haggling and thinks he's got a bargain. He gives him a down payment. Jack thinks Harry's got the better of Jed. Elsie writes to the landlord to say she has no intention of paying the rent increase, or losing Christine. Florrie tells Elsie that she wasn't behind the letter, before she thinks she is. Ena gets another letter from Mrs Brigginshaw to say Alice is fading fast and resolves to go to Sheffield. Swindley looks forward to being on the road and meeting his customers. Albert has a list of fifty-four attendees for the pensioners' social and Swindley realises that he'll have to handle the hall himself when Ena informs him about Alice. Val has suspicions that Concepta wrote the letter when she says Christine should just move out. Emily refuses to look after the mission. Jed offers the car to Swindley for £80. He goes to view it but refuses it when he recognises it as Harry's old banger. Jed realises he's bought a dud. Cast Regular cast *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol *Concepta Hewitt - Doreen Keogh *Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis *Valerie Barlow - Anne Reid *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Leonard Swindley - Arthur Lowe *Miss Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire *Christine Appleby - Christine Hargreaves *Jed Stone - Kenneth Cope Guest cast None Places *9 Coronation Street - Back room/kitchen *11 Coronation Street - Back room *Glad Tidings Mission Hall - Vestry *Gamma Garments *Viaduct steps Notes *Christine Appleby refers to the landlord as "Fazakerly" rather than the later-established Edward Wormold. *In all probability it was a scene in this episode that led to a two-year feud between Patricia Phoenix and William Roache, related many years later by the latter, during which the two actors did not speak to one another. The scene is where Ken Barlow threatens Elsie Tanner with court if she slanders his wife, Val again. In both the script and the transmitted version, Ken walks out of the room having had the last word but Ms Phoenix wanted to change it to have Elsie throw an ashtray at Ken as he departed. Roache objected and insisted that they kept to the script, leading to the dispute between the two. *Martha Longhurst expresses a hope that when Leonard Swindley is on the road he won't be like "that Ian Henry", referring specifically to the film Live Now, Pay Later (which she saw at the cinema the previous week) in which Ian Hendry plays a smooth-talking immoral salesman. *From Episode 172 (6th August 1962) to Episode 459 (5th May 1965) the programme featured a standardised cast list for the regular characters. This means that in this episode the following were credited but did not appear: Annie Walker (Doris Speed), Frank Barlow (Frank Pemberton), Lucille Hewitt (Jennifer Moss), Doreen Lostock (Angela Crow), Sheila Birtles (Eileen Mayers) and Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson). *''TV Times'' synopsis: Ena plans a journey and Elsie goes to war. *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 8,562,000 homes (joint 1st place with 11th March 1963). Notable dialogue Martha Longhurst: "It's time somebody got a grip on you." Jed Stone: "Yeah - Brigitte Bardot." Category:1963 episodes